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Borings advocate, Jack Valberg, dies at 61

Community volunteer suffered apparent heart attack

Jack Valberg, tireless promoter of Boring and gregarious community volunteer, died early Tuesday morning, Dec. 12, of an apparent heart attack. He was 61.

Friends and firefighters reportedly found Valberg in his home in Boring at around 10 a.m. Tuesday.

'It looks as if he died in his sleep,' said Les Otto, Valberg's friend and fellow Boring Community Planning Organization board member. 'It's a big loss.'

Valberg - who filled in as Santa Claus at the Boring Christmas Celebration earlier this month when St. Nick couldn't attend - was known for his boisterous personality, a loud laugh and a knack for making friends.

'What a fun guy,' said Otto, who served with Valberg the last several years on the Boring Community Planning Organization Board of Directors. 'I don't know a guy in the community who didn't like Jack. He could go dig a ditch one minute and have a kid on his lap as Santa Claus the next.'

Among his many involvements, Valberg was the owner of Jack's Tractor Parts, a company that sponsored an annual golf tournament benefiting Mt. Hood Hospice. He was on the Boring-Damascus Grange Executive Committee. As chairman of the Boring CPO's Park Committee, he desperately wanted to see the stretch of gravel near the Boring-Damascus Grange become a thriving community park.

A descendant of Boring pioneers, Valberg was one of the loudest cheerleaders of the town. He could often be seen volunteering for CPO events, such as the Sunday Market. His grilled onions were something of a local legend.

'He just gave and gave and gave all the time,' Otto said. 'Jack was our get 'er done guy. I don't' think we have anybody like that anymore.'

Valberg would have turned 62 on New Year's Eve.

A funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 19, at Grace Community Church (800 S.E. Hogan Rd. in Gresham). There will be a reception following the funeral at the Gresham Eagles' building, 117 N.E. Roberts Ave, Gresham.

Flowers are gladly accepted, as are contributions to Mt. Hood Hospice in Valberg's name.